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Emotions, technology and crunch: “EFKO” is changing the frying fat market

10.06.2025
Emotions, technology and crunch: “EFKO” is changing the frying fat market
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Emotions, technology and crunch: “EFKO” is changing the frying fat market
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Taste. Aroma. Golden crust. Frying fats are one of the most appetizing areas of the “EFKO” Oil & Fat Division. Deep-fat frying has long been the object of gastronomic experiments - from nuggets to camembert, olives and ice cream. What incentives does this segment have to develop so fast? What trends are there today? Can deep-fat frying be a part of a healthy lifestyle? Technologists, manufacturers and market experts have discussed these issues during the company's seminar "Deep-frying fats: innovations and quality", which took place in Moscow.

The Russian frying fat market has been showing a sustainable growth in recent years. According to analysts, it will have grown by another 5% by 2030. The key incentives are the fast-food industry development and the increase in the number of restaurants and cafes. People are eating out or ordering ready-made food to their homes (takeout) more and more these days.

What makes deep-fat frying so sustained to crises and changes in consumer preferences? Deep-fat fried products are usually chosen by people who are driven by a special feeling. The taste of French fries is associated with childhood, stops during a trip, rests and weekends. This is food that makes us a bit happier. Moreover, in the world where speed and emotions decide everything, this is an invaluable advantage. Large market chains have long realized what the “recipe for success” is. You can scale up interest in deep-fat fried dishes around the world by adapting them to local preferences – for example, adding spices in Asia or replacing meat with vegetables in India.

Natalia Danshina

Director of Margarine Department

“In Russia hundreds of new eating establishments open every year, and there deep-fat fried dishes are appearing in the menus more and more often. According to the research, 60% of Russian consumers regularly visit food courts and food trucks. Back in 2022, most large foodservice chains switched to “EFKO” products," said Natalia Danshina, Director of Margarine Department, Oil & Fat Division. “It’s our great pleasure to meet with technologists, plant managers and chief executive officers to discuss all issues related to the production of fried products. We not only follow the current trends, but also actively create new quality standards in the industry."

The secret of taste is high-quality deep-frying oil. It must withstand a large number of fryings and not smoke. “EFKO” has a special manufacturing control program – from raw materials to finished products. Not only vegetable oils are tested but also additives used in production - emulsifiers, antioxidants, defoamers. Before shipment, the quality of frying fat is checked in the laboratory, and a tasting panel evaluates it as well.  

Yulia Akhmedova

Senior Purchasing Manager at LLC “QSR System

“We have been working with “EFKO” company for quite a long time,” said Yulia Akhmedova, Senior Purchasing Manager at LLC “QSR System”. "We worked together back in the days of our predecessor brand McDonald's and continue to cooperate actively. Colleagues share their expertise, so the entire manufacturing process – from seed to finished product – is completely transparent.”

Actually the type of a product to be fried plays a role for choosing frying fat. For long-term frying of French fries, high-oleic sunflower oil is the best option. It is not absorbed into the product, and allows you to get a pleasant taste and aroma. There is such a product within our range – frying oil “Oilmix 1008”. But for the production of, for example, donuts, it is better to use frying oil based on palm olein - this is a guarantee of a golden crust and crispy texture.

Marina Perova

Head of the Purchasing Department at LLC “Lorenz Snack World Production Kirishi

“We produce salty snacks, so it was very interesting to talk about modern manufacturing technologies,” said Marina Perova, Head of the Purchasing Department at LLC “Lorenz Snack World Production Kirishi”. “We plan to purchase high-oleic sunflower oil for frying chips and production salty snacks such as pretzels and pretzel sticks.”

"Can deep-fat frying be a part of a healthy lifestyle? Over the past decades, industrial manufacturing of fried products has reached a new level. Frying operations have become automated, modern frying oils prevent the formation of harmful substances and foam.

“From a scientific point of view, many more useful substances are preserved when food is cooked quickly,” said Yuri Vlasenko, Executive Partner of the Strategic Bureau “Best Practices”. “One of the significant trends is enriching frying oils with antioxidants. Also, a variety of vegetable oils can be additionally included in the composition, for example, the trend of our time – avocado oil.”

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Dear partners!

In order to improve EFKO products and quality of service, as well as to better meet your needs, we ask you to answer a few questions.

In the Alekseevskaya Sloboda of the Belgorod province, where in the late 1820s, sunflower oil was produced for the first time in the Russian Empire, and the first oil mill in Russia was built.

During the years of the First World War, and then the Civil War, production was completely stopped. The restoration of the plant began only in 1923. The main focus of its work remained the processing of coriander and anise. In 1936, the second oil extraction plant in all of Russia was built in Alekseevka. Later, both enterprises were merged into one of the largest essential oil extraction complexes in the Soviet Union.

During the Great Patriotic War, the complex was almost destroyed. Restoration work, which began in 1943, continued until the end of 1948. In the post-war period, comprehensive reconstruction was carried out on many sections using the latest technological advancements. By the 1970s, the Alekseevsky essential oil extraction complex produced up to 80% of the world's coriander oil. For its achievements in production development, the development and implementation of advanced technology, by decree of August 14, 1972, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded the plant the Order of the Badge of Honor.

Unfortunately, in the 1990s, the enterprise that brought fame and wealth to the people of Alekseevka fell into decline and practically collapsed. The revival of the enterprise began in 1994 with the arrival of a new team and the creation of the EFCO Group.

The enterprise underwent large-scale modernization of production and established a new management system. The company decided to return to its roots and resume the production of sunflower oil. Later, EFCO expanded the range and volume of products.

In 2002, a new business direction was opened, and the most modern plant for the production of specialized fats and margarines for the food industry, EFCO Food Ingredients, was launched in the city of Alekseevka, Belgorod region. A scientific and production laboratory was established at the plant, equipped to control product quality at all stages of production and conduct in-depth scientific research.

In 2002–2003, EFCO technologists mastered the most environmentally friendly process of vegetable oil processing – the 'dry' fractionation method, applied the technology of physical refining of oils and fats, and managed to create Russia's first cocoa butter substitute 'Ecolad,', milk fat substitute 'Ecolact,', solid confectionery fat 'Ekond,', soft confectionery fat 'Ekonfe,', universal margarines 'Ecouniversal,', frying shortenings 'Ecofri,', and the first domestic fats with minimal trans-isomers content – confectionery fats 'Econat.'

In 2005, the R&D center of the fats and oils division was created based on EFCO Food Ingredients, consisting of the Applied Research Center and the Pilot Plant Department. The center’s specialists are engaged in developing and testing fat products for healthy eating lines and innovative recipes, taking into account the needs of manufacturers.

In 2006, the company was the first in Russia to successfully pass an audit for compliance with the quality and safety requirements of the BRC (Global Standard for Food Safety) and the International Food Standard (IFS).

In 2008, the second plant for the production of specialized fats and margarines was launched in the port of Taman in the Krasnodar Territory, and the only deep-water sea terminal for food cargo in Russia was built.

The following year, the plant successfully passed certification for compliance with the quality and safety requirements of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the International Food Standard (IFS). International auditors awarded the company the highest compliance level – Grade AA.

In 2014, the company’s technologists created the first domestic equivalent of cocoa butter.

In 2015, the EFCO Group launched a project to create a unique fats and oils cluster in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Thanks to production modernization and the transfer of global technologies, the production of specialized fats and margarines meeting the highest international standards was established in a short time.

In 2016, EFCO opened its fourth site for the production of specialized fats and margarines at the Evdakovsky fats and oils plant in the Voronezh region.

In 2021, production capacity at the Taman port facility was increased – launching the world's first 'million-ton plant' for the production of specialized fats and margarines.

In 2023, the company launched the only shea nut processing plant in Russia.

Thanks to R&D and significant investments by domestic producers in developing their own infrastructure, primarily by EFCO, the share of imported producers in the Russian food ingredients market has decreased from 49% to 9% over the past 15 years and continues to decline.

Almost 200 years later, Alekseevka remains the largest center for vegetable oil processing in the country.

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